Wednesday, September 21, 2011

OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam's Kapsules:
Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
by Kam Williams
For movies opening September 30, 2011

BIG BUDGET FILMS

50/50 (R for sexuality, drug use and pervasive profanity) Bittersweet dramedy about a 27 year-old writer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who learns what’s most important in life after being given a 50/50 chance of beating a rare form of spinal cancer. With Anjelica Huston, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Philip Baker Hall.

Courageous (PG-13 for violence and drug use) Alex Kendrick wrote, directed and co-stars in this faith-based parable about the trials and tribulations of four colleagues facing different ethical dilemmas while serving on the Albany, Georgia police force. Cast includes Ken Bevel, Ben Davies and Kevin Downes.

Dream House (PG-13 for violence, terror, sexuality and brief profanity) Psychological thriller about a married couple (Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz) whose relocation from NYC to a quaint New England town leaves their family the target of the same sadistic killer who had brutally murdered the previous owners of their new home. With Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas and Jane Alexander.

What’s Your Number? (R for sexuality and profanity) Screen adaptation of Karyn Bosnak’s best-seller “20 Times a Lady,” a romantic romp revolving around a marriage-minded young woman (Anna Faris) who decides to track down all of her former boyfriends to determine whether one of her exes might be her one true love. With Chris Evans, Blythe Danner, Andy Samberg and Ed Begley, Jr.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

American Teacher (Unrated) Matt Damon narrates this reverential documentary which pays tribute to the country’s 3.2 million teachers by profiling the careers of a quartet of dedicated educators.

Bunraku (Unrated) Revenge saga about a drifter (Josh Hartnett), a bartender (Woody Harrelson) and a samurai (Gackt) who join forces to take on a ruthless mobster (Ron Perlman) with an army of 9 assassins. With Demi Moore, Shun Sugata and Kevin McKidd. (In English and Japanese with subtitles)

Connected (Unrated) Filmmaker Tiffany Shlain is the subject of this cinematic autobiography exploring such themes as love, death and technology.

Margaret (R for profanity, sexuality, drug use and disturbing images) Serendipitous drama about a 17 year-old high school student (Anna Paquin) who convinces herself that she inadvertently played a role in a woman’s death after witnessing a horrific bus accident in Manhattan. Ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, J. Smith-Cameron, Matthew Broderick, Mark Ruffalo, Allison Janney, Jean Reno, Olivia Thirlby and Kieran Culkin.

Sarah Palin: You Betcha (Unrated) Unauthorized bio-pic features Brit muckraker Nick Broomfield taking a tongue-in-cheek look at the life of the Alaskan governor-turned-conservative cultural icon.

Take Shelter (R for profanity) Paranoia drama about a working-class family man (Michael Shannon) plagued by apocalyptic visions who finds himself struggling with whether or not to have his wife (Jessica Chastain) and daughter (Tova Stewart) hide in a backyard bunker he’s built as protection from the conflagration he believes is imminent.

Tucker & Dale vs. the Devil (R for profanity, graphic violence and brief nudity) Horror comedy about a couple of West Virginia hillbillies (Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk) who are mistaken for chainsaw killers by a group of vacationing college kids after saving one of them (Katrina Bowden) from drowning. With Jesse Moss, Philip Granger and Brandon Jay McLaren.

You Don’t Like the Truth (Unrated) War on Terror documentary culled from surveillance tapes recorded at Guantanamo during the four days of the interrogation of a Canadian teenager named Omar Khadr who was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

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The Sly Fox Film Reviews

KamWilliams.com

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.